Sunday, December 8, 2013

Travelogue: Japan- Kobe (Day 2)

After 4 months, finally... I have time to blog! After months of procrastination, I finally... yeah, like finally, have the determination to continue writing this travelogue. A long long post this time LOL Every time when I browse through the albums of my Japan trip, I reminisce every wonderful moment I have been there with my family and friend. Seriously, I miss Japan so much. So much I wanted to migrate there and leave this sick country and my terrible life now :'(

Okay, back to the topic. Day 2 of my Kansai trip, we decided to travel to Kobe. Initially Kobe was not listed in my itinerary since it seemed like an ordinary city for me. However, we changed our mind later and planned to give it a try since Kobe is renowned for its Kobe beef! Lols yes our main mission is to try out their famous delicacy.

We alighted on Kobe after 40 minutes, but it depends on the train that you take though. There are a variety of trains that you can choose, if you opt for the express train then it saves your time.

Firstly, we had our lunch at a restaurant nearby the train station. Again, I wanna express my love for Japan lols I truly love their food! All the dishes are so delicious, and you can actually feel their persistence on upholding the exquisiteness of their delicacies. Much to my surprise, the price is reasonably affordable. Although it is slightly expensive than our local restaurants, the ingredients and servings definitely worth every ¥ that we pay.

Chicken karaage set

Udon and gyudon set

Seafood don (my favourite! Can't resist the freshness and sweetness of the seafood! It just costs RM30+ with fresh prawns, sea urchin, all sorts of sashimi, with rice, soup and salad)

After lunch, we walked to Kitano-cho. It is a famous district in Japan with numerous former mansions of the foreign merchants and diplomats who lived in Japan during 19th to early 20th century. Now, most of the mansion (ijinkan), are open to public as museums with admission fees of 300- 5oo yen, depends on different mansions that you want to visit. It is located at the foot of the Rokko mountain, the picturesque scenery and afternoon breeze definitely made this a pleasant and enjoyable walking trip.

Starbucks!! Isn't it awesome?

I bought a combination tickets to both Weathercock's house and Moegi House (500 yen)

Weathercock House. Constructed as the house of German trader G.Thomas in 1909, and famous for the weathercock on the steeple. Designated as a National Important Cultural Property. This is the only building which has brick walls among western buildings in Kitano and Yamamoto district.

Some views inside the house

Elsa. Daughter of Mr. Thomas, who spent 5 yrs of her childhood here before World War 1 broke out.

Moegi House. Kobayashi family House, Former Sharp's House.

Some views around before we travelled to Rokkosan.

Grabbed some cool beverages before we left

Have always wanted to try this Choya alcoholic beverage. Very refreshing :) and the funny part was, the cashier thought my friend was under-age and insisted to see her passport lols. She even scolded her before that and asked her to press a button on the screen to confess that she is above 18yo.

Next, we travelled to Rokkosan (631m), the famous destination of summer retreat in Kobe :) There are several tourist attractions including a botanical garden, a music box museum, a pasture with flowers and sheep, Japan's first golf course and Rokko Garden Terrace, a pleasant complex of a few restaurants and shops and an observation deck. Due to time constraint, we just visited the pasture since my sister really loves animals.

Guess what, the cable car to Rokkosan is so cute! An antique train!

Am I in the fairy land?

Love the spectacular view! Love the cool breeze.

The entrance of pasture. It's compulsory to sanitize your hands and shoes before entering the pasture in order to avoid the transmission of microorganisms that may harm the animals. The precautions are so strict that they even set up different sanitization stations in the pasture. So cool.

Love the garden views. So serene and tranquil.

They played a music box lullaby at 5pm, which indicated the closing time of the pasture. Felt so calm listening to the music, and enjoying the cool breeze and amazing view. I wish I can stay here.

Actually we planned to go to the Garden Terrace, and wait for the night view. The night view from Rokkosan or Mt Maya is so spectacular and breathtaking, which portraits most of the Kansai region. It's described as one of three major Night Views of Japan and is called ten million dollar night view. BUT GUESS WHAT?!! We happily took the bus which I thought will stop at the station near there, but it straight away drove to the foot of Rokkosan. Since I bought 2-ways cable car and already planned out my entire trip, from Garden Terrace to the night view point, and go back at night by the last bus and then cable car. IT JUST RUINED MY WHOLE PLAN! Stupid bus driver skipped several stations, and sent us down! and there's no time to travel back to the top of hill again since it's getting darker! OH MY! I still feel sad now.. I have missed my ten million dollar night view *with anger* So I just can post the picture that I found from the website :'(

But fret not, I have my Kobe beef as consolation. I know it's ironic that I have beef as dinner after visiting the pasture :/

It's so juicy and delicious, the best beef I have ever tried! thumb up! but it's so expensive *jaw-dropping*, I have forgotten the price, but surely more than RM100.

Before we called it a day, we had a night stroll at the port :)

We bought the tickets for the ferris wheel. There are 2 types of tickets, if you want to eat inside it, you gotta pay more. My sister insisted to have her drink inside while viewing the scenery, so we chose the latter.

It's such an unforgettable trip. I promise myself I will visit Kobe again in the future :)

Inspired Quotes

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is mystery, but Today is a gift, that's why it's called present.

Life is a gift, given and taken at some unknown time.

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams. You are the center of your universe, and you can make anything happen.

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

"When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over."

Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!

Life is short; break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.

Do not spend time ruminating over why things have to change, should accept it as being a natural part of life, not a threat but an opportunity to learn and grow.

Just living is not enough. One must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower ::Hans Christian Anderson::

Cause that's what New Year's is all about, getting another chance. The chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. And stop worrying about what if and start embracing what will be. Let's remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight, but all year long ::New Year Eve::

To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life ::The Secret Life of Walter Mitty::

When I went to school, they asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy". They said I didn't understand the assignment and I said, "you don't understand life." ::John Lennon::